Cajun camp: Clean up, line up, shape up

With two weeks of preseason training camp now in the books, it is time for the UL football team to clean up better, line up quicker and shape up -- get up, in other words to where it needs to be when it comes to both mental and physical conditioning.

So suggested Ragin’ Cajuns head coach Mark Hudspeth after the Cajuns on Saturday completed their second large-scale scrimmage since camp opened in early August.

“We’ve still got to get in a little more ‘football shape,’ ” Hudspeth said. “Still saw some things (Saturday) we’ve got to clean up with our special teams, we’ve got to clean up with our young ball-carriers, and then, defensively, getting lined up quicker.”

Hudspeth said he understands weather had an impact during camp’s first two weeks.

But he doesn’t expect things to be much different in the early part of UL’s 2014 season, which opens Aug. 30 at Cajun Field against defending SWAC-champion Southern.

And he certainly doesn’t want to use it as any sort of excuse.

“It’s going to be hot and humid,” he said.

Hudspeth wants to start game-planning for Southern already this week.

Camp technically has broken, with Saturday’s scrimmage marking the end.

But Hudspeth indicated something else may be in store for the Cajuns as well, suggesting that “game-like conditioning” is something they need much more of.

“That’s hard to get just running sprints,” he said. “So they’ve to get in a little better game-shape still.”